Stranger in a Strange Land
by alwaysbringback-up
Summary: To get a menace that has plagued the whole team for years, Castle is willing to do whatever is necessary, no matter the cost. How will the rest of the team cope? Caskett Pairing through and through! (Okay, so the summary kind of sucks, but please give it a chance!)


Title: **Stranger in a Strange Land**  
Category: TV Shows » Castle  
Author: greygirl03  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Genre: General/Drama

_**Title: Panic Station**_

_**Disclaimer: Sadly the amazing show that is Castle does not belong to me, nor does Nathan Fillion or Stana Katic (as amazing as they are)! Characters belong to Andrew Marlowe and the rest of t**_

_**Spoilers: Through the end of Season Six (If Beckett and Castle actually wind up married at some point. We'll see what happens).**_

_**A/N: Wrote this a very long time ago, when Tyson was thought to be dead. Then the doppelganger episode happened, and I came across this, and decided to post it. Don't ask me why! I just hope that it's not absolutely terrible! Please be honest and tell me if it is! This is going to be a very short story with only about 5 or 6 chapters, unless I'm completely blown away by the response! I'll also be updating my super old fic, Ask Me How I Love You in the near future! So if you haven't read that, you might want to take a peak at it! **_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

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When he saw her go down, his heart sputtered violently in his chest. It was almost as if time had stopped altogether, or rather, it was almost as if his world had stopped completely. He was no stranger to the feeling. After all, he'd felt it many times before. Specifically, Castle had felt it when he'd cradled her against his body in the cemetery. He felt it whenever Kate was in danger. Castle took a gulp of air, his lungs rasping as he struggled to stay calm. With shaking limbs, he sprinted up to where Kate had sank down and dropped to his knees at her side. Blood was oozing from a deep cut in her side, although it didn't seem to be bleeding as much as he would have expected.

"Kate," His voice held a bit of panic to it as he said her name, and reached out to brush his thumb against her cheek. She closed her eyes and leant forwards as he did. Castle stopped breathing as her forehead brushed every so slightly against his. Castle felt stunned as Kate reached up with her free hand and grabbed the lapels of his jacket.

"Castle, I'm fine. Don't let him get away. Go!" Kate pleaded urgently.

"Kate, I can't leave you here," Castle argued softly.

"Yes you can," Kate hissed. Castle's eyes flickered open to meet authoritative green eyes glaring back at him. "That's an order, Castle. Stop Tyson while you still can. I know you'll resent yourself if you let him get away. I… I'll be fine," Her eyes flashed at him as she asserted herself. Castle swallowed thickly as he felt the dense heavy metal of Kate's service piece slip into his hand. "Take it," she whispered. Castle stared into her eyes for a long moment, and was surprised to see that she had complete faith in him. He nodded as he realized that Kate was right. He knew how important it was to stop Jerry from getting away again. He knew that he'd be saving countless lives of what would be his future victims, and so, it meant everything to him. The man had an appalling head start, and so Castle knew he was going to have to get creative. He slipped the gun behind his back and raced down first flight of stairs. As he ran, he started looking around the large warehouse, trying to formulate some kind of a plan. The serial killer that he was in pursuit of was already on the landing below running towards the back of the warehouse. Castle sprinted along arms and legs pumping through the air in determination. His eyes darted around, and suddenly they fell onto a chain hanging just over the railing and held steady, as his brain latched onto the idea. He wasn't afraid of heights persay, but the thought of jumping over the railing to his right scared him half to death. It was probably because he realized how stupid of a move it really was. However, before he could think about his fear for a moment longer, the need to catch this man transcended everything else. He committed to it, vaulting over the railing to his right. His heartbeat pounded incessantly as he dropped to the landing below. He was able to use the bulky heavy grade chains to slow his decent to the point where he avoided injury. Lucky for him, the landing on the second floor of the warehouse was wider than the top floor. Without pause he continued sprinting after the killer, surprising even himself when he found he was gaining on him. It was almost like he was in one of those action movies. The adrenaline rush was just so powerful that Castle found himself doing things that he would have never considered in his wildest dreams.

Getting this man meant everything to him. For Castle, the matter was personal. He would have been lying if he said that a part of him didn't want revenge for that night at the motel. He wanted revenge for what Tyson had done to his partner, Kevin Ryan. Castle's heart squeezed painfully as he remembered the pain and the guilt in his partner's eyes after Jane's death. Ryan deserved closure. Castle only hoped that he could give it to him. Castle wanted Jerry put away for good, in the deepest darkest cell in solitary where he could rot, and where he would have to face up to what he had done day after day after day. He wanted Jerry to feel haunted, to feel as guilty as Castle felt every sleepless night when he was forced to deal with the notion that more women were dying because he had been unable to stop Tyson when he had the chance. More importantly, getting Tyson meant that they would be able to offer closure to his countless victims out there and their families. He could only imagine how many young women Jerry had killed in his time away.

Castle knew the risks of trying to take down a man who had no qualms about killing him if it came down to it. And yet, he felt confident. He felt like he could stop him. Unbeknownst to Kate, he'd taken combat training sessions from Ryan and Esposito over the course of the last year, hoping that it would give him a better chance of protecting his partner. He knew it was silly. She didn't really need his protection. After all, Kate wasn't Castle's muse and inspiration for nothing. The fact is, that Kate Beckett could be absolutely fierce, when the time or situation warranted it. With a course of adrenaline, Castle had no doubt that she could strangle someone with her bare hands. But then last spring all of those things had changed. Kate had been shot right in front of him and he'd realized that anything could happen. Since then, he'd been determined to be good enough for Kate. He was determined to be the partner and protector that she needed. Over the summer, Castle had worked out with the boys. They had been kind enough to allow Castle to join in on their extensive morning workout routines in an effort to better themselves, because they too felt as if they needed to protect Kate. They'd even gone so far as to teach him some evasive maneuvers.

Castle tried to shove the guilt of leaving her behind into the back of his mind. After all, she'd told him to go, hadn't she? Castle expelled deep ragged breaths, his tidal volume and breathing rate growing with each breath. He could feel his muscles burn as sweat slowly dripped from his brow. Castle pulled Kate's gun from behind his back and flicked off the safety. He tried aiming it at Tyson's legs, but knew that he wouldn't be able to get a clean shot off. Not without risking the man's life anyways. The man stumbled at the top of the next flight, and Castle used it to his advantage. He dove forwards. It was a stupid move, and he knew it, but he knew it was his best chance of crippling the man and keeping him from getting away. Castle could only hope that he didn't break his neck in the process. With a grunt, two bodies collided and tumbled down the flight of stairs towards the floor below. At some point, Castle lost hold of the gun and heard it clatter as it met the floor. He could only pray that it didn't go off in the process. The absconder let out a scream as his back struck the metal stairs beneath his body, and Castle did the same a moment later when it was his turn. As they neared the bottom of the flight Castle's back hit the steps hard. His back connected with them in at least three places, and he could feel every bit of the pain like a sharp knife. It was the worst pain imaginable and Castle immediately regretted his choice.

Finally, after what seemed like the longest few moments of his life they hit the bottom and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop on the floor a dozen or more feet away from the base of the staircase. Castle's back lay against the cool concrete floor of the warehouse and his chest rose and fell as he gasped for breath. He could hear the man only feet away from him, groaning in agonized pain. Castle couldn't even contemplate moving. Blood rushed through his ears with every pound of his thundering heart and he could scarcely make sense of anything that was happening. Castle stared at the ceiling. Where were Esposito and Ryan? He hoped that one of them was helping Kate, and he could only hope that more help would be coming soon. Castle turned his neck to the side. The man next to him was still trying to get up off of the floor and was failing miserably. Castle felt fear when he realized the man still had more than enough means to kill him. Castle tried to move, wanting to get further away from a man who he knew to be incredibly dangerous. He immediately regretted his choice, screaming out as a pain shot down from his lower spine, through his legs, to the tips of his toes. He screamed, loudly, swearing as the pain became too much. Castle glanced over to find the man rolling over, shifting into a crawling position. Castle's body finally got the adrenaline it needed as his body finally grappled with the danger of the position he was in and his body entered fight or flight mode. Castle sat up enough to block the man as he threw a punch towards him. Tyson whipped out a switchblade. Castle could hardly move, but put a stop to the knife's progress towards his body using his forearm as a block. Castle grunted as muscles all over his body strained and tightened under his current duress.

Meanwhile, Kate was just getting to her feet when Ryan and Esposito found her.

"Kate," Esposito's eyes widened as they fell onto her blood-stained middle. He quickly shifted in protective mode and started to check the wound.

"I'm all right," she breathed softly as he tried to apply pressure, "Seriously. Esposito, stop it! I'm fine! Go!"

"Where's Castle?" Ryan asked, looking around.

"He went after Tyson," Kate gasped as the pain in her side flared as she tried to move. "Please. You guys have to help him." Esposito merely looked at her like a deer in the headlights.

"You what?" Ryan sounded surprised, feeling the danger for his friend. "You let him go after Jerry by himself?" Ryan sounded surprised.

"It's not like I really had a choice," She muttered defensively. "Now go!" A beat. Esposito and Ryan were still distracted. "Stop wasting time," she ordered. "Ryan, I mean it. Go! Go help him!" They all jumped as a loud scream echoed throughout the warehouse. Suddenly Esposito and Ryan seemed to wake up. They let instinct kick in and took off down the side rail. Esposito's stomach dropped as he and Ryan started sprinting in the direction of the screams. Kate stumbled, holding onto the railing for support. She felt suddenly very ill. The thought that those screams could be coming from her partner was the worst sort of torture imaginable. She took one small step, then another, slowly inching her way along the railing as she held her left side with her hand, trying to apply pressure and dull the throbbing pain in her side.

Ryan and Esposito sprinted full out towards the staircase.

"Hey! Over there!" Ryan called out as he saw two bodies on the ground floor, one of them was clearly Castle. Esposito squinted, trying to figure out what was going on. They ran faster as Jerry wrestled with Castle, arms and legs flailing as they fought.

Castle fought back; and although his range of movement and ability to fight back was severely hindered, he was still strong enough to defend himself. The knife's forward progress was stopped completely and Castle rolled away, pulling the man's hand backwards. With luck, the knife came free and Castle kicked it away. It skidded across the uneven floor, a long way out of reach. He dodged another punch, and Tyson let out a feral cry as his knuckles struck the unyielding concrete floor.

Unfortunately, his luck was running thin. Castle could barely cry out as the man punched him hard in his side with his other hand. The pain was unlike anything Castle had ever felt before. It left crippled him and left him gasping for air. It didn't take long for Castle to realize Jerry had gotten his kidney. Tyson followed up with another assault, his fist driving deep into Castle's solar plexus, effectively knocking the air out of him completely. Before Castle could recover, he was assaulted again. It wouldn't stop. In the blink of an eye, a pair of hands were suddenly wrapped around his neck in a vice grip. Instinctively, Castle's hands darted up to his neck, trying to pull the man's hands away as he gasped for air, but no matter how hard he clawed and pulled on the flesh of Jerry's forearm, he couldn't seem to pry the man's hands away.

"How does it feel?" Jerry hissed. "I've always wondered what it would be like to die… to slowly suffocate as your entire body screams for the breath it cannot take. I mean look at you. You can't even beg for your life, can you?" Castle chocked and gagged, gasping for air that would not come. He was not able to breathe, and Castle knew that he could be facing death. This thought caused him to fight back and struggle a bit harder. With a force behind it, Castle brought his knee up into the man's stomach. Jerry winced, but did not loosen his grip. If anything the hands around his neck clenched tighter around it. Castle's vision blurred, as the back of his head was slammed unforgiving against the floor beneath him once, twice, then three times, with sickening force. Jerry had a vice grip on him and Castle could do nothing but brace himself for the impact. Then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Castle relaxed as his vision blurred into swirls of nonsensical color. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. It was so beautiful. His heartbeat roared in his ears and his hearing and vision temporarily went. Overwhelming fatigue took over, making his limbs and his body feel as if they were detached from his mind somehow. Suddenly, sleep sounded like the best thing in the world. Castle groaned and closed his eyes, as the colors and light suddenly became blinding. Everything and everyone faded from around him. It was a lot different than he would have ever expected. It was peaceful almost, serene. He felt calm. There wasn't any pain at all. Finally, with one final feeble attempt at breathing Castle let go of life altogether, and light faded to darkness.

"NYPD!" a loud booming voice screamed. "Freeze, Tyson!" Tyson looked up to meet the eyes of Detective Javier Esposito, standing a mere fifteen feet away at the bottom of the stairs. His service piece was aimed at him. He couldn't keep the smile from his face, as the detective's eyes darted from him, down to his motionless partner, and back up to Tyson.

"It's not going to do any good, detective," Tyson spoke menacingly. "You're too late."

"Let him go and get off of him!" Esposito ordered as he kept his pistol trained on Tyson, "Now, Tyson!" Without breathing, the homicide detective switched off the safety and cocked the gun. Sweat trailed down Esposito's face as his finger tightened over the trigger. He struggled to restrain himself. He could see Ryan making his way out of the shadows just behind where Tyson sat hunched over Castle's lifeless body. Tyson's neck snapped around as he became aware of the other detective's presence. It allowed Esposito the precious seconds he needed to approach. Esposito sprinted over, his gun trained on the man's chest. As he towered over him, Jerry looked up at him with a deranged look in his eyes. It was like a taunt of sorts.

"You going to shoot me, Detective?" Tyson's malevolent eyes were mocking as he looked up at him.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Esposito hissed. "But you're not going to get what you want this time, Jerry. It's over." With a flourish, he reached out with one hand and latched onto Jerry's jacket, effectively yanking him off Castle. He grunted as he dragged Jerry across the concrete in an effort to give Ryan and Castle some space.

He swallowed, his eyes darting over to where Ryan hovered over Castle a few feet away. "Now put your hands on your head, and roll over." Tyson refused to move.

Ryan jumped as Esposito fired a shot into the floor a mere foot from Tyson's head. "Now!" Esposito hissed. Finally, he'd had enough. Without any pause whatsoever, Esposito shoved him into the ground and held him there. Instinctively, Tyson tried to fight him off and forced Esposito was forced to assert himself and shove him down onto the floor once more. This time, Esposito was ready. He used his knee to hold the killer down as he fastened his cuffs around Tyson's wrists. He was usually a stickler for rules, since Kate rubbed off on him that way, but anger got the better of him and he brought his service piece down on the back of Tyson's head, effectively knocking the man out cold. He figured he owed Ryan that much. He pushed himself off the floor and left him there. The detective knew he needed to help Ryan tend to Castle.

Ryan was already with Castle, trying to revive him. Esposito pulled out his radio, calling for help he hoped was there by now as he rushed over to help his partner. "This is detective Javier Esposito, badge number 7049. We have an officer down. I repeat. We have an officer down at 1520 West Lincoln Street. We have an officer is in need of immediate medical attention!" Esposito let out a breath he hadn't even realized that he had been holding as a voice crackled in reply, notifying him that help was on its way.

"He's in a really bad way, bro," Ryan hollered to Esposito as Esposito restored his radio to its place at his hip. "Tyson did a real number on him."

"I know. Help is on its way. Let's just do our best to try and revive him," Esposito encouraged. Ryan gently rolled Castle back over onto his back so that he was laying flat. Ryan pulled off his jacket, and draped it over Castle's torso. With trembling hands, he felt for a pulse. His hands were shaking so badly he was couldn't seem to distinguish one sensation from another. Castle was so cold. Ryan held his breath as he waited for the thrum of a heartbeat, but it didn't come. It was then and only then he realized Castle's chest wasn't moving up and down. Esposito watched as Ryan blanched and knelt low over Castle's chest. Castle wasn't breathing.

"W-we have a serious p-problem," Ryan stuttered, "He's not breathing."

"What?" Esposito suddenly felt the same ominous feeling. Ryan was right. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong. Esposito quickly leant forwards so his cheek was close to Castle's nose and mouth. He waited and hoped to feel a wisp of warm breath against his cheek but nothing came. "Tyson must have cut off his oxygen supply. We need to perform CPR now while we wait for the paramedics to get in here. You're going to have to breathe for him while I do the compressions." Ryan felt sick as he realized how serious this situation was. "You ready?" Esposito's voice droned on in the background as Ryan stared as the peaceful expression on Castle's face. "Ryan!" Esposito shouted. "I said, are you ready?!"

"Y-Yeah," Ryan replied as instinct took over. He tilted Castle's head back and pulled his jaw forwards and gently prized open the man's mouth. Part of him knew that if Castle made it through this that he would never stop taking flak for doing this. If anyone had told him that he'd be giving Castle mouth to mouth, he would have laughed it off as some kind of joke. Shoving all of those thoughts from his mind, Kevin forced himself to focus on the task at hand. None of those things would ever come to fruition if he couldn't save his partner now. Quickly, he took a deep breath and darted down, forcing his own breath into Castle's mouth as he held the writer's nasal passages shut. He leaned back again as Esposito started compressions, counting aloud as he forced his hands down on Castle's chest. Esposito could feel ribs and cartilage crack under the exertion of his own fists as he counted to five. His body shuddered as he thought about the sort of pain Castle would be in afterwards. If Castle made it through…that is. Esposito pulled back as Ryan delivered another breath, and Esposito started the compressions all over again. It was like this for nearly two minutes as they tried to get him back. Frustration grew with each passing second.

"Come on, Castle," Esposito breathed as he started to lose hope. "Don't do this to us, bro. Look, I know that we've been ragging on you a lot lately, but you truly mean the world to Kate, and to all of us, you really do. You're one of us now." Sweat coated much of Ryan and Esposito's body with the exertion and stress of the moment. They got no response. Ryan looked up as Kate came barreling down the stairs. Whatever pain she was in, had long since been taken over by panic and worry. She'd heard a shot echo from across the warehouse. She'd heard the screaming.

"Boys, what's going on?" Kate shouted as she stumbled down one stair after another. She was still awkwardly hunched over, clutching her side with her hand. "What the hell happened?" Kate cried as she hurried over despite the white-hot pain in her side. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Jerry was sprawled out awkwardly over the concrete, his hands fastened in cuffs behind his back. Castle had done it. He had stopped Tyson from getting away. That elation was short-lived, however, as her eyes darted over to Castle's motionless form. Through observing the way that her partners were hunched over his body, it didn't take much for Kate to realize that something was wrong. Kate gasped as she laid eyes on the purple and blue striations that were painted over Castle's neck. But none of that was as devastating as the fact that Castle wasn't breathing. Oh god, her partner, the man she loved, wasn't breathing. He was still. Too still. She choked back vomit in the back of her throat as she watched Esposito start another round of compressions, and watched her two brothers try and get him back.

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_**A/N: Okay, so I know what you're thinking. You probably want to strangle me yourself right now! But unless this chapter was going to be 10,000 words long, I had to stop it somewhere! **_

_**If this gets a good response, I'll update very soon! Otherwise, I can delete it if you think it's lame.**_

_**Please review!**_


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